{
  "slug": "style-guide",
  "wiki": null,
  "title": "Style guide",
  "kind": "policy",
  "summary": "House style: neutral encyclopedic tone, standard article structure, dates, links and citation formatting.",
  "url": "https://cozywiki.com/wiki/style-guide",
  "categories": [],
  "infobox": null,
  "contentMarkdown": "Consistency makes the wiki readable for people and parseable for machines. When editing, match this style.\n\n## Tone\n\n- **Neutral and descriptive.** Describe what a game is and what sources say about it. No marketing language (\"stunning\", \"must-play\"), no reviews, no second person (\"you'll love…\" — the article is not talking to a player).\n- **Plain over clever.** Short sentences. Concrete facts. The coziness belongs in the games; the prose should be calm and clear.\n- **Attribute opinions.** Critical assessments appear only as attributed, cited claims (\"Rolling Stone described…\"), never in the wiki's own voice.\n\n## Article structure\n\nGame articles follow this skeleton (sections may be omitted when empty):\n\n1. **Lead** — one short paragraph: what the game is, who made it, first release (with citations). Bold the game's title on first mention.\n2. **Gameplay** — how it plays, neutrally paraphrased from official/store descriptions, cited.\n3. **Development and release** — studio background, early access and 1.0 dates, platform rollout, publisher changes.\n4. **Reception** — awards, sales milestones, notable coverage. Only what can be cited.\n5. **External links** — official site, store page.\n6. **References** — generated from your footnotes.\n\n## Dates and numbers\n\n- Write dates as **26 February 2016** (day Month year). Use \"as of [date]\" for time-sensitive figures like sales.\n- Prefer exact figures with sources over vague claims (\"sold over 41 million copies as of December 2024\", not \"extremely popular\").\n\n## Links\n\n- Link other wiki pages with double brackets: [[Stardew Valley]], or with a label: [[cozy-game|cozy game]]. Link the first mention only.\n- Red links (to pages that don't exist yet) are encouraged — they map what the wiki still needs.\n- External links live in citations and the External links section, not sprinkled through prose.\n\n## Citations\n\n- Place the footnote marker directly after the punctuation of the claim it supports.\n- One footnote per source; reuse the same marker for repeat citations of that source.\n- Footnote format: publisher/author, linked title, publisher name, \"Retrieved\" date — see [[Verifiability]].\n\n## Titles and naming\n\n- Article titles use the game's official name, including punctuation (\"Animal Crossing: New Horizons\").\n- Use the developer's preferred studio name; note self-publishing as \"self-published\" where relevant.",
  "contentText": "Consistency makes the wiki readable for people and parseable for machines. When editing, match this style.\nTone\nNeutral and descriptive. Describe what a game is and what sources say about it. No marketing language (\"stunning\", \"must-play\"), no reviews, no second person (\"you'll love…\" — the article is not talking to a player).\nPlain over clever. Short sentences. Concrete facts. The coziness belongs in the games; the prose should be calm and clear.\nAttribute opinions. Critical assessments appear only as attributed, cited claims (\"Rolling Stone described…\"), never in the wiki's own voice.\nArticle structure\nGame articles follow this skeleton (sections may be omitted when empty):\nLead — one short paragraph: what the game is, who made it, first release (with citations). Bold the game's title on first mention.\nGameplay — how it plays, neutrally paraphrased from official/store descriptions, cited.\nDevelopment and release — studio background, early access and 1.0 dates, platform rollout, publisher changes.\nReception — awards, sales milestones, notable coverage. Only what can be cited.\nExternal links — official site, store page.\nReferences — generated from your footnotes.\nDates and numbers\nWrite dates as 26 February 2016 (day Month year). Use \"as of [date]\" for time-sensitive figures like sales.\nPrefer exact figures with sources over vague claims (\"sold over 41 million copies as of December 2024\", not \"extremely popular\").\nLinks\nLink other wiki pages with double brackets: Stardew Valley, or with a label: cozy game. Link the first mention only.\nRed links (to pages that don't exist yet) are encouraged — they map what the wiki still needs.\nExternal links live in citations and the External links section, not sprinkled through prose.\nCitations\nPlace the footnote marker directly after the punctuation of the claim it supports.\nOne footnote per source; reuse the same marker for repeat citations of that source.\nFootnote format: publisher/author, linked title, publisher name, \"Retrieved\" date — see Verifiability.\nTitles and naming\nArticle titles use the game's official name, including punctuation (\"Animal Crossing: New Horizons\").\nUse the developer's preferred studio name; note self-publishing as \"self-published\" where relevant.",
  "citations": [],
  "createdAt": "2026-07-09T12:53:44.934Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-07-09T12:53:44.934Z",
  "lastVerifiedAt": null,
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/",
    "attribution": "\"Style guide\" by CozyWiki contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://cozywiki.com/wiki/style-guide"
  },
  "markdownUrl": "https://cozywiki.com/wiki/style-guide.md"
}